Greg Raymond
5.9K posts
@GregoryVRaymond
Senior Lecturer, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU. Researches SE Asia.
With the recent elections in Myanmar maintaining the Tatmadaw’s hold on the country, Thailand is tentatively attempting to reintegrate the state into ASEAN. Read Morgan Michaels' latest analysis as part of the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2026⤵️ go.iiss.org/4uRQNM5 | #IISS_SLD26 go.iiss.org/SLD26
Senator Proposes Criminal Penalty for Disrespecting Royal Anthem Senator Alongkot Worakee has proposed legislation making it a criminal offense for citizens to fail to stand in respect when Thailand’s royal anthem is played. During a Senate session on March 24, Alongkot, who serves on a special parliamentary committee on protecting the monarchy, highlighted that while Thailand’s national anthem is legally protected with fines and imprisonment for noncompliance, no such law exists for the royal anthem. He noted that the royal anthem has been part of Thai tradition since King Rama V and that incidents have occurred in cinemas where children who did not stand were harassed. The proposed law would impose criminal penalties and fines for failing to show respect, emphasizing that Thailand is the only country with two official anthems: the national anthem and the royal anthem. The committee has studied both anthems and continues to campaign for public respect. #Thailand #เพลงสรรเสริญ
This piece by @akanit153 is a must-read on the People’s Party’s shift. At its core is an argument that the party’s staying power comes from social movements and organization-building, not the survival tactics and elite accommodation now taking center stage.fulcrum.sg/the-roots-of-t…
BoT Governor Flags Deep Structural Problems Dragging Thailand’s Growth Bank of Thailand governor Vitai Ratanakorn warned that Thailand is facing deep-rooted structural problems that are suppressing economic growth and weakening the country’s long-term resilience, calling for concrete action rather than continued debate. Speaking at Matichon's seminar, Vitai said Thailand’s economy is struggling beyond short-term cyclical factors. Excluding the Covid-19 period, GDP growth projected at 1.5–1.7% in 2026 would be the lowest in a decade, reflecting entrenched structural weaknesses. Vitai pointed to household debt of around 87% of GDP — far higher than the 40–60% seen in many other countries — as a major constraint on consumption. SME lending has contracted for 13 consecutive quarters and is expected to extend into a 14th, limiting investment and preventing economic expansion. Low productivity, weak competitiveness and a lack of new investment were also cited as key challenges. Other structural issues include opaque capital, corruption, and deep inequality in income, finance, opportunity and education, with the education system failing to meet current economic needs. Thailand’s innovation capacity has declined, while the informal economy remains large and difficult to quantify, with estimates ranging from 30% to 100% of GDP. An ageing population is further limiting labour supply, production capacity and consumption. Vitai also highlighted political instability, outdated laws and inconsistent law enforcement as factors undermining investor confidence and economic performance. He said Thailand has spent decades discussing solutions to inequality, poverty, competitiveness and informal debt, but lacks sufficient follow-through. Structural problems cannot be solved quickly, he said, but they can be addressed if both the public and private sectors commit to sustained action. Vitai added that these structural weaknesses not only keep growth low but also erode economic resilience, particularly through high household debt, which continues to sap domestic demand. #Thailand #ThaiEconomy #เศรษฐกิจ #เศรษฐกิจไทย
This is mind-blowing scale of purge. And really good news for Taiwan, Japan, and US.
My latest, in the @nytimes: nytimes.com/2026/01/06/opi…
“The response to the Bondi massacre has been seriously strange.” Essential writing from a thoroughly moral mind, and one of Australia’s great thinkers: open.substack.com/pub/robertmann…
Some fascinating things here, if it's accurate. Compare the vagueness of "it is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries" with the very specific limits on Ukrainian army numbers and "Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO."
